Financial Services and General Government

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8337, a short-term continuing resolution through December 11th.

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of American life.

During this unprecedented time, it is more critical than ever that the federal government remain open and functioning.

By passing this short-term CR, we will:

As the Republican Leader of the Appropriations Committee, I oppose H.R. 7617, the second package of fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills to be considered by the House.

My concerns today will sound very familiar. I had many of the same objections when I spoke on the House floor last week about the first package of appropriations bills.

I regret that I again oppose a very important piece of legislation.

This bill supports –

Thank you, Chairwoman Lowey.

I want to recognize Chairman Quigley and Ranking Member Graves for their work on putting this Financial Services bill together.

I also want to thank Tom for his service in the House and on this Committee, as well as his work on the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.

The bill before us today includes many priorities for Members on both sides of the aisle, such as support for small businesses, drug control programs, and funding for vital counter-terrorism and financial intelligence efforts.

However, I am concerned that there are several controversial items that:

Madam Chair, thank you for yielding.

I rise in opposition to the subcommittee allocations because they do not give a complete picture of all of the spending in these appropriations bills.

Instead of working with us to develop bills consistent with the budget agreement that was reached last year, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have unilaterally decided to include hundreds of billions of dollars in so-called "emergency" spending for things that really are not emergencies.

• Almost $200 billion dollars for infrastructure;
• Nearly $35 billion dollars to respond to the coronavirus on top of the trillions already appropriated; and
• $12.5 billion for veterans, even though it was known last year that these costs would rise.

In total, there is more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in additional deficit spending not included in these allocations.

Thank you, Chairman Quigley, for presenting the fiscal year 2021 Financial Services bill today.

I also want to recognize Ranking Member Graves since this will be his last subcommittee markup. I commend him for more than a decade of service to our nation and the people of North Georgia.

During Tom's time in Congress, he has served as the Chair or Ranking Member of two appropriations subcommittees, and he is currently serving as Vice-Chair of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.

We all know it's not easy to reform an institution like this, which is so set in its ways, but the leadership he and Chair Kilmer have demonstrated will have a lasting impact on the House's operations for years to come.

This has been a difficult year for the Graves family. Tom's son suffered very serious injuries in a cycling accident. Tom, I understand that John has made a near miraculous recovery.